An Introduction to Priti Patel’s Work
In Manipur, dance is not just a form of art, but a way of life. Dance is a medium
of expression, which is so closely interwoven with the social fabric of the
Manipuri Society that it is impossible to study one without the other. Manipuri
dance is believed to be the creation of Gods. In Manipuri texts dating back
before 33 A.D., the legend goes that when the Supreme God, Lai Guru Sidaba,
created the Earth, He created seven Laibangthous (Gods) and seven Lainuras
(Goddesses) and these celestial beings levelled the uneven surfaces of the earth
with their celestial dance, which is believed to be the seminal form of what we
now call the Classical Manipuri dance form. Dance is considered by the
Manipuris as a form of worship because of which Dance holds an extremely
revered, sacrosanct status in Manipuri culture. The study of Manipuri dance has
been imparted over the ages in the ‘Guru-shishya parampara’ ; through a
holistic approach, where students take lessons not just in dance but also on the
values of life.
Priti Patel is one such artiste who has, through her efforts, tried to
preserve the essence and authenticity of Manipuri dance through her system of
instruction. Born in 1960, she was initiated into the world of dance at the early
age of 5 years. At the age of 12, she started learning dance from eminent
Manipuri dance guru, Late Guru Bipin Singh. Through the rigorous training she
underwent under her Guru, she excelled as a danseuse in this form of dance and
especially in the Vaishnavite Ras Leela form of the Manipuri dance tradition.
However her quest for mastery and perfection made her delve more into the
study of this unique dance tradition. She took lessons in the pre-Vaishnavite
dance forms of ‘Thang-ta’ ( the martial art form of the Manipuri dance
tradition), and ‘Lai Haraoba’ (a ritualistic dance form of the Manipuri
tradition) . In this quest for knowledge, she was imparted extensive training by
her guru Ojha Babu Singh in the ‘Sankirtana’ and ‘Rass Leela’ traditions, by
eminent scholar Padmashri Pandit N. Khelchandra Singh in the “Thang-ta”
tradition and by Padmashri Maharajkumari Binodini Devi , a Manipuri literature
and scholor, who has, over the years, been giving Priti Patel information on the
origin, history, importance and the very ethos of Manipuri dance, culture and
society.
Even as this research and quest for knowledge and information goes on, Priti
Patel started giving lessons on Manipuri dance, to her own students, at the same
time trying to preserve its very essence and sancity.
In November 1995, through the efforts of Pandit N. Khelchandra Singh and
Maharajkumari Binodinio Devi, who wanted to hand over to Priti Patel the torch
of imparting education in this unique dance tradition to students outside
Manipur, Priti Patel laid foundation of a unique school called “Anjika” in Kolkata.
Priti Patel has through her school Anjika, not just been imparting training and
expertise in this dance form in the same unique tradition that has been followed
over the ages, but has also been teaching her students the value system that
has been passed down the generations. Two of her students, Baisali BasuSarkar
and Suman Sarawgi have had their “Saranya” ceremony performed and Anjika
has awarded them with the ‘Shri Jayantibhai Patel Award’ for excellence in
dance, an award given during the “Saranya” ceremony.
Anjika, as a school, has dual curriculum. It is a school for
Manipuri dance and is also a school for Movement Therapy for children suffering
from cerebral palsy. Priti Patel has undergone formal training from the Lesley
College, Boston in the United States of America in dance and Movement Therapy
and has worked with special children in collaboration with the Indian Institute for
Cerebral Palsy. She has developed this unique for of therapy where these
special children with a motor co-ordination disorder are given movement therapy
through the medium of dance. Manipuri dance , in its uniqueness of being dance
with gentle, smooth and fluid movements helps these special children in gaining
control over their limbs ; and in doing so, this medium of expression helps them
in uplifting their spirit and helps them to gain confidence. This pioneering work
by Priti Patel has proved to be successful and Anjika has seen the growth and
development of some special children in this field . A student of Priti Patel ,
Suryasekher Basu, a special children suffering from Down Syndrome has been
awarded the “Shri Umedbhai Patel Award” for excellence in dance by Anjika, an
award given to special children in this field.
Anjika operates from Kolkata, where besides Priti Patel herself, the staff
includes some very skilled young artistes, including from Imphal in Manipur. In
Kolkata. the school imparts formal education and training in the dance form,
besides being a resource center of artistes for all its performances. The Imphal
chapter of Anjika, which was initially intended to be only a resources center for
artistes for its shows and performances, has also recently started functioning as
an informal training center for young students in Manipur. Anjika also conducts
research and documentation in this dance form and has its own, though
humble, library of literature, audio and video cassettes on this form of art, Anjika
has performed in several prestigious dance shows all over the world and has won
a number of laurels and accolades for itself. Priti Patel, has herself, received
innumerable awards in appreciation of her work and excellence in this dance
form.
HONOURS AWARDED TO PRITI PATEL AND ANJIKA
2008
2002
Priti Patel and Anjika received the Award from the Prestigious RAZA
FOUNDATION for contribution to Manipuri Dance.
Priti Patel was awarded the “ Women’s Achievement Award ” by
Ladies Circle for excellence in Dance.
2001 Priti Patel was awarded the “FULLBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP “ USA
for the year 2000-2001 for Performing Arts .
2000
Priti Patel was awarded “SECOND MRINALINI SARABHAI
AWARD” for excellence in Classical Dance. The award was given by
“ DARPANA ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS,” Ahmedabad
Priti Patel was graded in the Outstanding Category by
Doordarshan Kendra in Classical Manipuri Dance.
Priti Patel was graded in the Outstanding Category by Indian
Council For Cultural Relations , New Delhi in Classical
Manipuri Dance.
Priti Patel was awarded Uday Shankar Dance Award for the
“Best Dance Choreography for the year 1999-2000” for her
composition Chitra based on Rabindra Nath Tagore’s poem
Chitra.
1999 Priti Patel was awarded “Surendra Paul Award” for her contribution
to dance in the decade 1990-1999,
awarded by Apeejay Trust Kolkata.
1993 Priti Patel was awarded the “Golden Rosed Prize” for the best
performance in the Third International Yangko Festival,
Shenyang, China.
1990 Priti Patel was awarded the Shiromoni Puraskar for excellence
and contribution to Manipuri Dance .
1988
1985-87
Priti Patel received Certificate of Honour from the Govt of Ulan
Ude, Festival Of Russia.
Priti Patel received the Certificate of Excellence, Manipur State
Kala Akademi.
Pioneering Work of Priti Patel
1. Priti Patel was the first student of Guru Bipin Singh to perform his solo
repertoire in classical Manipuri Dance, which was their pioneering work in
the field of Manipuri Dance. For this contribution, the Manipuri State Kala
Akademy conferred upon her the Certificate Of Excellence in the year
1985, 1986 and 1987.
2. Priti Patel founded Anjika, Centre for Manipuri Dance and Movement
Therapy in Kolkata and Imphal in 1995. On this occasion, she organised
the “Maharas”, the most important Rasleela in the Manipuri tradition at
Fort William, Kolkata, which was the first time ever performed outside
Manipur, in the traditional way. In “Maharas” forty Gurus ans artistes
from Imphal performed with Priti Patel.
3. Priti Patel has some new Choreographies to her credit in which Priti Patel
has incorporatd all the four styles, Thang-ta, Lai-Haraoba, Sankirtana, and
Rasleela of Manipuri Dance. Her Choreography (I) “Chitra” – the princess
of Manipur, a dance-drama based on Rabindra Tagore’s poem “Chitra” has
won the “Uday Shankar Award” for the best dance Choreography for the
year 2000, awarded by the Government of West Bengal. (II) “Surya Gati”
– a homage to the Sun and “Malem” – a homage to mother Earth have
won the Second Mrinalini Sarabhai Award awarded by the “Darpana
Academy of Performing Arts” Ahemdabad”.
4. Priti Patel on behalf of Anjika presented “Meihourol : Tracing the roots of
classical Manipuri Dance” --- a seminar and performance in Kolkata,
organised by Anjika, Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India, West Bengal State Music Academy and Manipur
State Museum .
5. Having received formal training in expressive therapy at Lesley College
Boston , U .S . A. Priti Patel had long opportunity to apply her knowledge
in her own work among children with Cerebral Palsy. Her curriculam is
based on the wonderful efficacy and relevance of Manipuri dance . With
its gentle swaying rhythms and flowing movements, the Manipuri dance
form not only helps the disadvantaged child to gain mastery over his or
her limbs, but to stimulate, absorb and uplift the spirit, build confidence
and hope in young minds imprisoned by disobedient bodies.
In Manipur, dance is not just a form of art, but a way of life. Dance is a medium
of expression, which is so closely interwoven with the social fabric of the
Manipuri Society that it is impossible to study one without the other. Manipuri
dance is believed to be the creation of Gods. In Manipuri texts dating back
before 33 A.D., the legend goes that when the Supreme God, Lai Guru Sidaba,
created the Earth, He created seven Laibangthous (Gods) and seven Lainuras
(Goddesses) and these celestial beings levelled the uneven surfaces of the earth
with their celestial dance, which is believed to be the seminal form of what we
now call the Classical Manipuri dance form. Dance is considered by the
Manipuris as a form of worship because of which Dance holds an extremely
revered, sacrosanct status in Manipuri culture. The study of Manipuri dance has
been imparted over the ages in the ‘Guru-shishya parampara’ ; through a
holistic approach, where students take lessons not just in dance but also on the
values of life.
Priti Patel is one such artiste who has, through her efforts, tried to
preserve the essence and authenticity of Manipuri dance through her system of
instruction. Born in 1960, she was initiated into the world of dance at the early
age of 5 years. At the age of 12, she started learning dance from eminent
Manipuri dance guru, Late Guru Bipin Singh. Through the rigorous training she
underwent under her Guru, she excelled as a danseuse in this form of dance and
especially in the Vaishnavite Ras Leela form of the Manipuri dance tradition.
However her quest for mastery and perfection made her delve more into the
study of this unique dance tradition. She took lessons in the pre-Vaishnavite
dance forms of ‘Thang-ta’ ( the martial art form of the Manipuri dance
tradition), and ‘Lai Haraoba’ (a ritualistic dance form of the Manipuri
tradition) . In this quest for knowledge, she was imparted extensive training by
her guru Ojha Babu Singh in the ‘Sankirtana’ and ‘Rass Leela’ traditions, by
eminent scholar Padmashri Pandit N. Khelchandra Singh in the “Thang-ta”
tradition and by Padmashri Maharajkumari Binodini Devi , a Manipuri literature
and scholor, who has, over the years, been giving Priti Patel information on the
origin, history, importance and the very ethos of Manipuri dance, culture and
society.
Even as this research and quest for knowledge and information goes on, Priti
Patel started giving lessons on Manipuri dance, to her own students, at the same
time trying to preserve its very essence and sancity.
In November 1995, through the efforts of Pandit N. Khelchandra Singh and
Maharajkumari Binodinio Devi, who wanted to hand over to Priti Patel the torch
of imparting education in this unique dance tradition to students outside
Manipur, Priti Patel laid foundation of a unique school called “Anjika” in Kolkata.
Priti Patel has through her school Anjika, not just been imparting training and
expertise in this dance form in the same unique tradition that has been followed
over the ages, but has also been teaching her students the value system that
has been passed down the generations. Two of her students, Baisali BasuSarkar
and Suman Sarawgi have had their “Saranya” ceremony performed and Anjika
has awarded them with the ‘Shri Jayantibhai Patel Award’ for excellence in
dance, an award given during the “Saranya” ceremony.
Anjika, as a school, has dual curriculum. It is a school for
Manipuri dance and is also a school for Movement Therapy for children suffering
from cerebral palsy. Priti Patel has undergone formal training from the Lesley
College, Boston in the United States of America in dance and Movement Therapy
and has worked with special children in collaboration with the Indian Institute for
Cerebral Palsy. She has developed this unique for of therapy where these
special children with a motor co-ordination disorder are given movement therapy
through the medium of dance. Manipuri dance , in its uniqueness of being dance
with gentle, smooth and fluid movements helps these special children in gaining
control over their limbs ; and in doing so, this medium of expression helps them
in uplifting their spirit and helps them to gain confidence. This pioneering work
by Priti Patel has proved to be successful and Anjika has seen the growth and
development of some special children in this field . A student of Priti Patel ,
Suryasekher Basu, a special children suffering from Down Syndrome has been
awarded the “Shri Umedbhai Patel Award” for excellence in dance by Anjika, an
award given to special children in this field.
Anjika operates from Kolkata, where besides Priti Patel herself, the staff
includes some very skilled young artistes, including from Imphal in Manipur. In
Kolkata. the school imparts formal education and training in the dance form,
besides being a resource center of artistes for all its performances. The Imphal
chapter of Anjika, which was initially intended to be only a resources center for
artistes for its shows and performances, has also recently started functioning as
an informal training center for young students in Manipur. Anjika also conducts
research and documentation in this dance form and has its own, though
humble, library of literature, audio and video cassettes on this form of art, Anjika
has performed in several prestigious dance shows all over the world and has won
a number of laurels and accolades for itself. Priti Patel, has herself, received
innumerable awards in appreciation of her work and excellence in this dance
form.
HONOURS AWARDED TO PRITI PATEL AND ANJIKA
2008
2002
Priti Patel and Anjika received the Award from the Prestigious RAZA
FOUNDATION for contribution to Manipuri Dance.
Priti Patel was awarded the “ Women’s Achievement Award ” by
Ladies Circle for excellence in Dance.
2001 Priti Patel was awarded the “FULLBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP “ USA
for the year 2000-2001 for Performing Arts .
2000
Priti Patel was awarded “SECOND MRINALINI SARABHAI
AWARD” for excellence in Classical Dance. The award was given by
“ DARPANA ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS,” Ahmedabad
Priti Patel was graded in the Outstanding Category by
Doordarshan Kendra in Classical Manipuri Dance.
Priti Patel was graded in the Outstanding Category by Indian
Council For Cultural Relations , New Delhi in Classical
Manipuri Dance.
Priti Patel was awarded Uday Shankar Dance Award for the
“Best Dance Choreography for the year 1999-2000” for her
composition Chitra based on Rabindra Nath Tagore’s poem
Chitra.
1999 Priti Patel was awarded “Surendra Paul Award” for her contribution
to dance in the decade 1990-1999,
awarded by Apeejay Trust Kolkata.
1993 Priti Patel was awarded the “Golden Rosed Prize” for the best
performance in the Third International Yangko Festival,
Shenyang, China.
1990 Priti Patel was awarded the Shiromoni Puraskar for excellence
and contribution to Manipuri Dance .
1988
1985-87
Priti Patel received Certificate of Honour from the Govt of Ulan
Ude, Festival Of Russia.
Priti Patel received the Certificate of Excellence, Manipur State
Kala Akademi.
Pioneering Work of Priti Patel
1. Priti Patel was the first student of Guru Bipin Singh to perform his solo
repertoire in classical Manipuri Dance, which was their pioneering work in
the field of Manipuri Dance. For this contribution, the Manipuri State Kala
Akademy conferred upon her the Certificate Of Excellence in the year
1985, 1986 and 1987.
2. Priti Patel founded Anjika, Centre for Manipuri Dance and Movement
Therapy in Kolkata and Imphal in 1995. On this occasion, she organised
the “Maharas”, the most important Rasleela in the Manipuri tradition at
Fort William, Kolkata, which was the first time ever performed outside
Manipur, in the traditional way. In “Maharas” forty Gurus ans artistes
from Imphal performed with Priti Patel.
3. Priti Patel has some new Choreographies to her credit in which Priti Patel
has incorporatd all the four styles, Thang-ta, Lai-Haraoba, Sankirtana, and
Rasleela of Manipuri Dance. Her Choreography (I) “Chitra” – the princess
of Manipur, a dance-drama based on Rabindra Tagore’s poem “Chitra” has
won the “Uday Shankar Award” for the best dance Choreography for the
year 2000, awarded by the Government of West Bengal. (II) “Surya Gati”
– a homage to the Sun and “Malem” – a homage to mother Earth have
won the Second Mrinalini Sarabhai Award awarded by the “Darpana
Academy of Performing Arts” Ahemdabad”.
4. Priti Patel on behalf of Anjika presented “Meihourol : Tracing the roots of
classical Manipuri Dance” --- a seminar and performance in Kolkata,
organised by Anjika, Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India, West Bengal State Music Academy and Manipur
State Museum .
5. Having received formal training in expressive therapy at Lesley College
Boston , U .S . A. Priti Patel had long opportunity to apply her knowledge
in her own work among children with Cerebral Palsy. Her curriculam is
based on the wonderful efficacy and relevance of Manipuri dance . With
its gentle swaying rhythms and flowing movements, the Manipuri dance
form not only helps the disadvantaged child to gain mastery over his or
her limbs, but to stimulate, absorb and uplift the spirit, build confidence
and hope in young minds imprisoned by disobedient bodies.
For Detail call at 09414307004 to J.P.Bhatnagar
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